Feb 13 HD in the city

Location outfit Here is partnering with Dubai to map the city with high definition technology. The big idea here is for Dubai to lean heavily on high-definition maps so that it can reach a target of making one-quarter of its public transport self-driving by 2030.

Here – formerly a Nokia unit but now operated by Audi, BMW, and Mercedes – and the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai plan to conduct a series of pilots to enable HD Live Map, Here’s tool for autonomous cars, to provide public service vehicles with up-to-date information about what is happening on the road. Here says the map serves up a “self-healing, highly accurate view of the world that perpetually informs, gathers, then redistributes information about roadways”.

Also in play will be the Here Open Location platform to connect vehicles on the road with a network of other intelligence providers, including infrastructure elements such as street lights, variable speed limit and traffic detection gear.

What’s this about?

Dubai has hugely ambitious plans for its transportation infrastructure. In 2016, it inked a deal with the Hyperloop One high-speed train system to explore the possibility of connecting the city to Abu Dhabi.